The State of the Oscars…Best Supporting Actor

Being the enormous fan of the Academy Awards I am, I find great enjoyment in predicting the Academy Awards. My favorite race is Best Supporting Actor, because some of the greatest performances in history have been awarded here. Last year was a giant nailbiter, with the award going to any of the five men, all of which had won before. This year, its likely that the five nominees will be composed of non-winners. Here are my top ten:

01. Jared Leto as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club02. Barkhad Abdi as Abduwali Muse in Captain Phillips03. Bradley Cooper as Richie DiMasso in American Hustle04. Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps in 12 Years A Slave05. Daniel Brühl as Niki Lauda in Rush06. Tom Hanks as Walt Disney in Saving Mr. Banks07. James Gandolfini as Albert in Enough Said08. Jonah Hill as Donnie Azoff in The Wolf of Wall Street09. Will Forte as David Grant in Nebraska10. John Goodman as Roland Turner in Inside Llewyn DavisThe top five are my choices for the Best Supporting Actor lineup. Here are the reasons why I choose these five:

Jared LetoJared Leto stunned me (and many others) with his performance in Requiem for a Dream thirteen years ago. The man has showed incredible ability to change his physical appearance to suit a character. In Dallas Buyers Club, he does this and gets a beautiful emotional storyline. These roles (HIV/AIDS, gay, transgender), always go down nicely when it comes to awards season. There are very few people who deserve an Oscar as much as Leto.

Barkhad AbdiTalk about an unknown talent – Abdi was a taxi driver who auditioned for the role as a hijacker in Captain Phillips alongside one of the most iconic living actors, Tom Hanks. Who thought he’d go ahead and actually out-act Hanks? Abdi gives one of my favorite supporting performances of the year, and it makes me so happy everytime he gets a nomination.

Bradley CooperCooper turned his career around successfully last year by getting an Oscar nomination for his amazing performance in Silver Linings Playbook. He reteams with David O. Russell, and he seems to be coming out of the backwoods lately, sneaking up to the Oscar nominations list. He missed out on the SAG nomination, which makes a win less likely. But he is a likely nominee, especially as Tom Hanks loses steam and buzz.

Michael FassbenderFassbender was snubbed two years ago for his amazing performance in another McQueen film. The man is painfully overdue for a nomination, and he gets to play a villain in 12 Years A Slave. His performance has been very divisive, but it has been hailed critically for its viciousness and how much Fassbender commits to the part. A few months ago, we all predicted him for the win. However, I’m starting to feel like his performance is too divisive to win an Oscar. If he is snubbed, please don’t be shocked.

Daniel BrühlThis nominee is also sneaking up on us – Brühl surprisingly got all the important precursor nominations. While he may not win an Oscar for Rush, he is going to one day, and his almost confirmed Oscar nomination could serve to be a launching pad for him (and please note that if both Brühl and Fassbender get nominated, they will once again face off against each other, just like they did in Inglorious Basterds).

I am very weary to predict a winner, but I am calling this in favor of Jared Leto. However, any of the five men could end up winning this.